Beneath a Savage Sun

By Shady Grace

Her love is his salvation . . . and greatest danger.

Only a tough woman can survive in a town filled with cut-throat men, and Charlotte Phillips is no exception. She’s willful, fiery, and does as she wishes, yet nothing could prepare her for the consequences of saving a man from certain death. Her heart may be in the right place, but now her days are numbered.

Avery Samms made an innocent mistake and pays with the flesh on his back. With the doctor out of town, he’s sure an agonizing death is his fate. Until a beautiful angel shocks everyone—especially Avery—by taking him home to heal. One blissful moment under the cover of night lures them to forbidden desire . . .

But beneath a savage sun, they must fight for their love . . . and their lives.

Reader Advisory: This book contains an incomparable hero and a spirited heroine, pistol slinging, knife wielding, bad guys, bad language, and smokin’ hot love scenes.

PUBLISHER NOTE: M/F Interracial Historical Romance. HEA. 35,000 words.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Luminosity Publishing LLP
• Release date: Dec 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005495893

Shady Grace

Shady Grace makes Northern Ontario her home, where the bush is so thick you can’t see two feet past the tree line.Perhaps the mystery of the woods was what initially sparked her need to write. She adores strong alpha males who fall for fiery, independent women, in settings with humorous dialogue and action-filled plots.Shady believes love and sex should be exciting and unforgettable. Being able to write about it is better than cheesecake.Shady Grace is the new pen name to mutli-published erotic author, BL Bonita, who received a starred review from Publishers Weekly for her Interracial Western, Dark Sun Rising.

Book preview

BENEATH A SAVAGE SUN

SHADY GRACE

Her love is his salvation . . . and greatest danger.

Only a tough woman can survive in a town filled with cut-throat men, and Charlotte Phillips is no exception. She’s willful, fiery, and does as she wishes, yet nothing could prepare her for the consequences of saving a man from certain death. Her heart may be in the right place, but now her days are numbered.

Avery Samms made an innocent mistake and pays with the flesh on his back. With the doctor out of town, he’s sure an agonizing death is his fate. Until a beautiful angel shocks everyone—especially Avery—by taking him home to heal. One blissful moment under the cover of night lures them to forbidden desire . . .

But beneath a savage sun, they must fight for their love . . . and their lives.

Reader Advisory: This book contains an incomparable hero and a spirited heroine, pistol slinging, knife wielding, bad guys, bad language, and smokin’ hot love scenes.

PUBLISHER NOTE: M/F Interracial Historical Romance. HEA. 35,000 words.

BENEATH A SAVAGE SUN

SHADY GRACE

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LUMINOSITY PUBLISHING LLP

BENEATH A SAVAGE SUN

Copyright © DECEMBER 2020 SHADY GRACE

Cover Art by Poppy Designs

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

No part of this literary work may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without the written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

CHAPTER ONE

The moment Charlotte Phillips opened the porch door, a wave of suffocating heat clung to her face, threatening to burn the precious powder right off of her skin.

Good lord, there’s fire in the sky out here. Don’t you agree, Lucy? She smiled down at the stray mutt she’d taken in. The old girl whined and laid back down on the porch planks, content to bask in the sun without a care in the world. Charlotte shook her head. Fine, I’ll work the shop on my own today.

She set her bonnet straight and smoothed her dress, knowing the heat and dust would render the new yellow frock into nothing more than dusty linen. But she always tried to look her best, no matter how stifling the heat or dirty the streets.

You stay here and guard the house then.

Lucy yawned and closed her eyes.

With a lighthearted chuckle, Charlotte stepped off from the porch and headed down the footpath to town. Although the stray dog had the temperament of an irritated old lady, Charlotte did enjoy her company. Having a companion in her life was better than having nobody at all. It was a tough life in these parts, especially with her folks so far away.

The morning offered no refuge from the stifling mid-summer Sierra heat. Three months past, she’d left the refreshing air of northern Washington to help run Buford’s Emporium in the growing town of Hatchet Creek in California. After her cousin died, Charlotte was left with the store as well as her cousin’s home. Despite being ill-prepared for the sudden change, she was her mother’s daughter and determined to make a life for herself.

She closed her eyes, inhaled deep, conjuring up her cousin’s image. Oh, Isabelle, if only I knew your intentions. Why did you beg me to come, knowing you were on death’s door?

The hot mountain breeze swept through the trees dotting the foothills. In the distance, the majestic mountains pierced the blue sky like jagged arrowheads. Charlotte lifted her face to the sky as she walked, taking in the scent of wild lilac along the path. This place was so beautiful and still largely untamed that it gave her a sense of pride to be a part of it. Though there were days when she wished she could be back home, the beauty of the mountains and wilderness here could not be described with adequate words.

The snap of a whip echoed in the distance, disrupting her train of thought. With her homestead located half a mile from the town center, she picked up her skirts and rushed down the beaten trail, her active imagination conjuring up horrible images of a poor workhorse being abused.

As she turned onto the main street, settled in a small rocky valley between the mountains, she shielded her eyes from the sun and tried to get a better view of the scene. Several more cracking sounds ricocheted off the buildings like the pounding of a hammer.

An ever-present cloud of dust swept through the air as the thriving scene before her teemed with people going about their morning errands as though the sound of the whip was nothing unusual. Carriages were loaded with supplies from the shops and several ladies browsed window displays. A couple of drunks burst through the doors and landed on the ground, cussing and brawling in front of The Bleeding Heart Saloon.

But she saw no man whipping a horse.

A group of men loading their goods a short distance away, paused to stare at something on the other side of the wagon. Charlotte had a feeling something dreadful was happening, knew it like she knew she wasn’t truly welcome in this town.

Another crack of the whip snapped in the air.

What’s going on, Billy? Charlotte yelled at the young boy whose job was to sweep the boardwalk every morning.

He paused and leaned on the pole-end of the broom, looked yonder, and shrugged. Don’t know, ma’am. But I heard Mr. Barrett yellin’ at some fella. Prob’ly some thief.

The whip cracked again and this time Charlotte heard the distinct sound of a man’s painful groan. She picked up her skirts and rushed toward the scene.

A large crowd had gathered in the middle of the street. By the time she reached the circle, at least a dozen cracks of the whip had slashed violently through the air. Grumbles accompanied the horrific sound. Anxious faces filled her vision.

When Charlotte reached the opening of the circle, she gasped in shock and outrage at the gruesome sight before her.

Blood spattered the ground along with torn pieces of cloth from the man’s shirt. In the middle of the fray was Avery Samms, lying in a fetal position with his back shredded like butchered meat. She couldn’t tell the color of his shirt for the amount of blood soaking the material. Charlotte felt a zing of heat in her cheeks as the raw scent as well as the sight of it made her feel ill. Above him stood Reggie Barrett, holding the whip, knuckles white from his tight grip.

The cruel atmosphere swirled like a bad disease in the hot air. Rage burst inside her. How could these people get excited over this? California was a free state, and yet, all these people stood around as if Mr. Barrett had a right to whip this man.

Isn’t somebody going to stop him? she cried.

They say he raped Mrs. Barrett. I ain’t stopping ’im, somebody argued. More people agreed, cheering Mr. Barrett on with new vigor.

Get ’im good! they shouted.

Mr. Samms would never hurt anybody! Horrified by their lack of compassion, Charlotte stood there, stunned. In that appalling moment, she realized just how uncivilized this world really was.

They could say whatever they wanted. It didn’t mean he had done anything wrong. She knew Elizabeth Barrett’s lying ways. Everyone knew.

Charlotte lunged forward and threw herself over Mr. Samms’s body, just as the whip sliced through the air and slashed across her back. The tip curled around her side, biting into her flesh like a striking snake. She stifled a scream against Avery’s torn back as a sting like she’d never felt before slithered fire across her body. Still, she refused to budge.

The crowd hushed.

Someone gasped. Is she crazy?

Musta took leave of ’er bloomin’ mind, another grumbled.

P–please, Charlotte pleaded, the wind knocked from her lungs by one strike of the whip. How Mr. Samms took so many more and was still alive seemed unbelievable.

With his thick brows deeply furrowed and the fires of hell in his beady brown eyes, Reggie Barrett’s arm holding the whip extended behind him. For a second, she thought he’d continue his brutal tirade whether she was in the way or not.

A shot cracked the air. All right, everybody, back away.

The crowd scattered as Sheriff Gallagher stepped into view, pistol up and ready. A cloud of dust sparkled in the sunlight behind him, making his appearance almost heaven-sent. His shocked gaze landed on Charlotte, still sprawled atop Avery, and then darted to Mr. Barrett.

What the hell are you doing, man? He yanked the whip out of Barrett’s hand.

Once the whip was in safe hands, Charlotte pushed away from Avery and got to her feet. When she realized the front of her new dress was covered in blood, she glared up at Barrett.

He spat on the ground by Mr. Samms’s face. This dirty coo—

Shut yer mouth, now, Sheriff interrupted. No need for that kinda language in front of a lady. Now tell me what authority you have to whip this man.

He tried to rape my wife, Barrett blasted back.

Sheriff Gallagher gazed from Reggie Barrett to Charlotte and then finally Mr. Samms, before he erupted in raspy laughter. Charlotte didn’t know what to say, so she remained right where she stood, right next to Avery. She didn’t trust Mr. Barrett for a second. He had no liking to authority and could very well turn the tables on Sheriff Gallagher in spite.

Barrett clenched his jaw and his fists. What’s so funny?

We talkin’ ’bout the same wife who got her belly fat with your neighbor’s babe while you were out rustling up them longhorns? I’d say Avery here was just givin’ ’er what she wanted.

Barrett’s eyes bulged with outrage before he lunged at Gallagher, but the sheriff quickly side-stepped and clobbered him on the back of the head with the butt of his pistol. Barrett collapsed to the dusty ground—out cold.

With the excitement long gone as the wind sweeping by, most of the crowd eventually parted. Sheriff Gallagher stood beside Charlotte, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "He got you good there, Missy. You all right? Dagnabbit,